Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a flexible display device.
Discussion of the Related Art
With the advancement of the information-oriented society, various requirements for display devices have been increasing. Recently, various type display devices, such as liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panel (PDP) devices, organic light emitting display (OLED) devices, etc., have been developed.
In particular, because the LCD device and the OLED device, which include a thin film transistor, have advantages of good resolution, color display, and good picture quality, they are widely used for display devices in televisions, notebook computers, tablet computers, and desktop computers. Also, the LCD devices and OLED devices have been developed as flexible display devices.
A related art flexible display device includes a base substrate, a thin film transistor, an organic light emitting device, and an encapsulation layer. The base substrate may be a flexible plastic film. The thin film transistor is prepared on the base substrate. The organic light emitting device is formed on the thin film transistor, and is electrically connected with the thin film transistor. The encapsulation layer is provided on the thin film transistor and the organic light emitting device. The encapsulation layer protects the thin film transistor and the organic light emitting device from external shocks and prevents moisture from permeating into the flexible display panel. The encapsulation layer may include an inorganic film. In this case, the inorganic film may extend from an upper side of the organic light emitting device and may be disposed in the outermost region of the flexible display panel. However, if the related art flexible display device is curved or bent, a stress may be concentrated in the inorganic film disposed in the outermost region of the flexible display panel, thereby causing cracks. The cracks may cause a permeation path for moisture. That is, moisture may be permeated into the inside of the flexible display panel through the cracks occurring in the inorganic film, thereby lowering the reliability of the flexible display panel.